Marisa Carroll - The Midwife And The Lawman

Maybe if he’d been older, more mature, he could have handled it better. But he’d been almost as young and green as she was, idealistic and filled with foolish notions of romance and happily-ever-after. He’d expected her to know, without his saying a word, how troubled and disillusioned he was. How the things he’d done or couldn’t do had tarnished his soul. He’d counted on her, and the love he felt for her but had never been able to express, to somehow magically heal him. Of course it hadn’t. So he’d pushed her away and curled into himself in misery. And broken her heart.

He should tell her now about the hurt and horror of that godawful place and what it had done to the naive, gung-ho kid he’d been, how it had torn him up inside for more years than he wanted to remember. Maybe then they could get past it, move on to the beginning of a future together. But it didn’t seem right to talk of death and destruction in this place of hope and beginnings.

She waited so long to respond to his comment that he thought she wasn’t going to. At last she said, “There was someone, but we broke up months ago. At Christmastime.”

She had been in Enchantment for Christmas. It had been the first he’d seen of her in a long time when, decked out in his dress blues, he come by to retrieve the carton of toys the center was donating to Toys for Tots. She’d said hello, that it was good to see him. And her smile had rocked his world just as it had since the first day he’d seen her, a gawky, golden-haired, horse-mad fifteen-year-old. He’d managed some kind of reply and thanked his lucky stars he’d been in uniform. It put a little needed steel in his backbone.

“What was he?” he asked now. “Doctor? Lawyer? Indian chief?”

“You’re the only Indian chief I know. He was a doctor. Third-year cardiology resident.”

“Your idea or his to call it quits?”

She sighed. “Mine. He was a great guy, but not the man I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.” Who was the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with? A small-town cop with a few rough edges?

He had to ask one more question. “Did you love him?”

“No,” she said quietly. “And no more questions from you.”

“Okay, it’s your turn. Ask away.” He found himself holding his breath. Would she ask why he’d broken her heart so long ago? Would she give him the chance to explain?

She didn’t bring up the past. “No need to. Your life’s an open book in this town.”

He gave an exaggerated groan, hiding his disappointment. “Hell, I should have known that.”

“Your mother wants more grandkids, so she’s hoping you’ll find the right girl to marry soon. I heard that from Trish Linden. And rumor over the tea mugs has it Theresa Quiroga left town after you broke her heart.”

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